McCain Stands in the Gap

Let’s put aside for a moment McCain/Feingold and the right’s other grievances against John McCain. When it comes to the war on terror, is he the Lincoln of our time? McCain has now launched a petition drive, under the name Surrender Is Not an Option. McCain says:

* The supplemental appropriations bill that passed the Senate on March 27, calling for a date certain withdrawal from Iraq, is nothing more than a guaranteed date of surrender.
* It is a refusal to acknowledge the dire consequences of failure, in terms of the stability in the Middle East and the resulting impact on the security of all Americans, whether home or abroad.
* Democrats have chosen the politically expedient position of failure rather than putting aside the small politics of the day in the interest of our nation and the values upon which this nation rests.
* We the undersigned remain steadfast in our support for the war against terrorism and mindful of the consequences of failure in Iraq, even if Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid refuse to acknowledge those consequences.
* We support our troops and the new strategy and believe it should be given the opportunity to succeed. American national security interests are directly at stake. Success or failure in Iraq is the transcendent issue for our foreign policy and our national security. People say they want to defeat the terrorists, but if we withdraw from Iraq prematurely, it will be the terrorists’ greatest triumph.
* If we leave Iraq based on an artificial timetable, al Qaeda will be free to plan, train for and conduct operations from Iraq just as they did in Afghanistan before 9/11.

To repeat just one line: “Success or failure in Iraq is the transcendent issue for our foreign policy and our national security.”
I’ve signed the petition.
PAUL adds: I respect and admire John McCain, especially on the issue of Iraq. But I’d have to put aside his advocacy on behalf of detainee rights before I could consider him the Lincoln of our time on the war on terror.
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